John Lennon - The Last Interview, 12/8/1980 Part 8

[OroborusFMA]

This interview is like listening to paint dry.  Another rock star whose muse was gone by the time he was 30. And if it wasn't the "woman" sure killed off what was left of it. The only decent track on Double Fantasy is "Losing You."

[DENNISKELLER9]

Life and and its struggles will never end. Similar to the universe. Gravity, unseen, yet ever present, moving us thru space and time into masses of dark matter, only to explode into another creation, immeasurable times, over and over again until lifes recreated as it is now. Life is the dawn, death's the sunset. We will all be together again, and again, and each time we will learn to have more love for each other. "Love is the answer"... John Lennon.

[HelenaWalt]

I really love that John found Yoko. It seems like he was very happy.

[pickledpines]

I don't know why I dislike Yoko so much. It's just something I feel. I've tried to like her. She has some good qualities, I'm sure. Now you have all heard this before, but I am going to say it again.....because I believe it......the great love of John Lennon's life is Paul McCartney. I feel he did love Sean, too.

Now Neil, I am sure wondering who you really are. But then all of us that follow your videos are wondering. Maybe you will reveal it as I read more.

[mrfrogbutt1]

@pickledpines People bitch and complain and blame Yoko because deep inside people are fucking racist against her! That's the only fucking reason...If she were WHITE people wouldnt say half the shit they bitch about

[NeilFraudstrong]

@mrfrogbutt1

It is not a racist thing.  Jesus Christ.

[mrfrogbutt1]

@NeilFraudstrong Yes, it is! Its always been because she's Asian. Ive been around a lot longer than you have. Ive also seen footage of John talking about the same issue in interviews. No one ever bitched out Linda for her horrible singing with Wings but they sure beat Yoko! why is that? Look at the anti Asian sentiment of most Americans during the 70's youll be amazed

[NeilFraudstrong]

@mrfrogbutt1

Don't even give me the "I've been around longer than you" thing. It's not a racist thing. I mean, for some people I am sure it is, but there are plenty of valid reasons for disliking Yoko.

[mrfrogbutt1]

@NeilFraudstrong IM 38yrs old and yes, Ive been around longer than you. Been a Lennon fan since I was 10 and read,seen and own countless interviews about them. Im sure evryone has a reason but for most folks its always been "race" related. Yoko's name is usually followed by,"Yellow,chink,jap,bitch and ugly" when people speak of her. Ive heard it all my life. You never hear these things about Linda or anybody else. And Linda was a HORRIBLE singer. But mostly its a "racist" rant

[NeilFraudstrong]

@mrfrogbutt1

It doesn't matter how long you've been a fan. That is just a pissing match. Do you think I haven't done my research? I mean, I've read the interviews, the comments, I've listened to interviews, and while I grant you that some of the people dislike Yoko for racial reasons, that is not the only reason she is universally disliked. The vast majority of people dislike her for numerous things, the least of which is her race.

[LeahsLegacy19569]

Wow! I love this interview of John & Yoko talking so passionately and affectionately towards each other especially when it came to Sean and being balanced with his son with tenderness and much love for him and his wife is so beautiful and awesome to hear again. Thank you very, very much Neil...:-)

[MAGICO240]

John mentions Elvis all the time, even at this last interview.

[lockstockdub]

it looks angelic

[lockstockdub]

doesnt that wall behind him look like a face, i thought it was a painting at first,

[MrHideyoursheep]

John Sound's So Clear,Upbeat,Happy,And a wicked sense of humor. Love the man.

[bigman25plus25]

Listen people, John was a genius. Much smarter than you. He didn't get fooled. If she was good enough for him, she should be good enough for you.

It's just sexism. The only reason you like the other Beatles wives more than Yoko is because they didn't talk as much.

[NeilFraudstrong]

@bigman25plus25

It's not just sexism FYI.

[EmitFlestiKY]

@bigman25plus25 Yoko is a banal and mediocre "artist". IF John loved her, fine, that's between them, but that doesnt' mean the genral public has to pretend Yoko is also a genius artist!

[mrfrogbutt1]

@EmitFlestiKY Mediocre is todays worthless fucking bullshit music and bullshit on tv!

[aharbison1]

@bigman25plus25 Sexism? Your an idiot. I am not one of the many that thinks Yoko broke up the Beatles. I think Paul's giant ego, and Johns boredom with the band had more to do with it. But... Yoko is not Paul, and I laughed when John put the two on the same level. Yes, John was pretty smart. Not as smart as Paul, but smart. Have you heard Yoko's music. I'm sure its used for torture in some countries. Its not sexism, Yoko is just annoying and no one cares what she has to say.

[mrfrogbutt1]

@aharbison1 I rather listen to Yoko than half the bullshit todays fucking worthless youth calls music!

[bd9598]

@bigman25plus25 JOHN was the one that made the rule, now wives or girlfriends at practice and recording sessions, then he broke his own rule, toting her to every session and recording, the other Beatles did not like her constant interrupting and telling them how they should be playing or what they should be doing. Recordings and videos from that time they say so themselves, so yes I take that for fact.

[ChiroQuacker]

if you read interviews with jack douglas who produced double fantasy and johns last recordings...he loved john but says yoko was a pain in the ass and that he had to record them separately because she would drive john nuts....

the reality is that john should never have left the beatles..or left england to live in new york...

[TheVicAndHelenShow]

[Hitler: brought to you by the Rockefellers. Obama: brought to you by the Rockefellers.]

[StickItUpYrBumGugle]

To be fair to Yoko (and I'm usually not) she is a very well respected artist, quite separately to her relationship with John. She was talked about a few times on my University Art History course and the leader of the course was very clever, not an idiot.

[NeilFraudstrong]

@StickItUpYrBumGugle

You are exactly right. People think that I refuse to give credit to Yoko for anything, but she is smart as hell and very business savvy. To create a myth like the one of John and Yoko, she had to be smart. She is very intelligent in the way she does things whether I like them or not.

[BALLYJUNKIE]

yoko is not even on the same level as ringo........hello

[greenwich1754]

@BALLYJUNKIE Or Lassie - at least Lassie saved Timmy from the well!

[unfortunatebeam]

@BALLYJUNKIE Ringo made as good albums as McCartney solo wise, didn't he?

[LikeWiseLikeYou]

It's painful to listen to John put Yoko and Paul on the same level.

I wonder if Yoko ever secretly felt embarrassed by his bold comparisons--that perhaps even SHE knew the reality.

Part of the interesting function of one Yoko Ono IS THAT she is so unbelievably unlikable when compared to a gloriously captivating person such as John Lennon.

It is as if God himself placed Yoko into the world of John specifically to contrast his natural appeal. It's amazing how unlikable she is in these interviews.

[chrisdastronomer]

my love grows

[tom6612]

Yoko was possibly a substitute for Julia. Separation anxiety has a lasting effect. Then Julia gets run down and killed by a drunk cop. Small wonder he was so rebellious when it came to authority figures.

Say what you want about Yoko but she was a very compassionate person and she really influenced Lennon in those terms. Beats the hell out of a lot of these mean -spirited people running around today.

[unfortunatebeam]

@tom6612 i don't get the point of your comparison between her and "a lot of these mean-spirited people running around today". what do you mean?

[tom6612]

@unfortunatebeam - You ever listen to right wing Hate Radio ?

[unfortunatebeam]

@tom6612 well there were lots and lots of mean-spirited people and commentators, radio or otherwise, running around back then too, which is why I don't get your point. If there's been an increase it's only because the population increased.

[tom6612]

@unfortunatebeam - (part 1) You are 100% wrong. I have listened to talk radio in the NYC area for the last 50 years. It all changed around 1987. A new breed of especially virulent radio appeared at that time ushered in by Limbaugh. If you can not see the clear delineation in our media that happened you were not paying attention.

Right wing propaganda went into high gear at that time and their propaganda can't exist without the demonization of large sections of the population like the poor.

[unfortunatebeam]

@tom6612 lol how can I be 100% wrong? of course there were lots of mean-spirited people back then too; that's an undeniable, self-evident fact. And there were the radio commentators too. The birth of what you call virulent radio actually started with the likes Wally George and Joseph Pyne back in the '60s, way before 1987, it just grew as most things do (like I said, population increases and so does everything else).

[tom6612]

@unfortunatebeam ---- (part 2) What you have now is a distinctly poisonous media with great destructive potential. Matter of fact it's not even a matter of potential. They actual played an important part in the destruction of the US economy (in Sept. 2008). All the insane Reaganomics that screwed the pooch was pushed heavily upon the masses on Hate Radio.

More than anything right wing radio wants to promote the wide acceptance of a whole new level of cruelty and injustice.

[unfortunatebeam]

@tom6612 I don't disagree with you that virulent consevative talk radio has a poisonous affect on the masses, but you're definately simplifying things. It's more accurate to say we have a highly atomized media now, which entails a lot of things being simply "poisonous" and "destructive" but that's (still) there too (it always was).

[unfortunatebeam]

@unfortunatebeam I meant to say "entails a lot of things BEYOND [not being] simply poisonous and destructive...

[tom6612]

@unfortunatebeam - (part 3) In short they are a force of great societal destabilization through economic inequality and concentration of wealth. They have succeeded in that task.

[unfortunatebeam]

@tom6612 There's much more than radio talk shows that's causing income inequality and concentration of wealth, although I can agree they sure don't help it. Your "100% wrong" talk I think ironically shows just how much such media has poloraized your own brain into extreme ways of thinking. Just relax and don't let it get to you. Human Society is so much more varied and complex than what such programming makes you think.

[tom6612]

@unfortunatebeam - Such cheap debate tricks I can see you have no interest in honest discussion. I never said wealth concentration was all the fault of talk radio so you are already spreading lies. Talk radio ( and their mainstream parrots) was however the crucial link in inundating the public with the propaganda needed to get them to accept the policy that caused the concentration of wealth and the destruction of the US economy.

You are as dishonest as they come.

[unfortunatebeam]

@tom6612 LOL. You want me to be honest? Ok, right now, You SOUND like a pissy polarizing conservative talk show host with no interest in real discussion or dialogue. You seem to be just directionlessly trying to shoot me down (which isn't working). just relax for pippy's sake.

[johnsain]

I interpret that as John feeling Yoko has an artistic vision just as worthy as Paul's or anyone else. The fact that Paul can craft a product which is more commercially acceptable is besides the point.

[13Loriful]

John viewed YO through rose colored glasses. This is common when you’re in love. He saw things in her that we will never see.

[beahgtm]

neilfraudstrong u know your stuff;-) who knows maybe she was in on his death..but thats a bit reaching?

[beahgtm]

no lucetknight.I just ment she knew Who the Beatles were ..shes not from mars.. Shes living in New York In the arts feild and not knowing who John Lennon was? plus she asked Paul mccartney for some beatles memorbillia like autograhps or something they wrote on for some charity 4raising money for her art ?or something- he said no but John might..and that was in the early 60s,so she knew him--in this interview she said had no idea who he was

[beahgtm]

she knew!! who John Lennon was.

[luceknight]

@beahgtm Paul's former lover?

[NeilFraudstrong]

@beahgtm

Yes she did. She was actually living in England, in London, at the time of Beatlemania and one of her oft repeated lies is that she was clueless as to who John or The Beatles were which is absolutely not true. Her friends at the time recall her wanting to get involved with The Beatles and Tony Bramwell was the gatekeeper to John at first because YO was practically stalking him. John thought she was creepy... at first. If only he'd trusted his instincts.

[augustusdes]

@NeilFraudstrong Yeah more bullshit from her.The cool pretentious New York arty type too cool to even know who the Beatles were.Total bullshit.The Beatles were possibly the most famous 4 men in the world at the time.Ive always believed her talentless metropolitan art world bullshit essentially tainted Johns naturally superior untrained artistic genius.He perhaps felt his art had to conform to her established art world mentality. John called that one wrong..But fuck he was only 27..so young.

[anitasseo]

@NeilFraudstrong That´s what they say, yes. That she knew; that she i fact was first chasing Paul... Hard to tell. But, yes, makes sense that for John, being so used to be "over the top" mentally compared to the majority, and known to ANYONE, was happy having this romantic feeling of believing that he actually had a woman to conquer that had NO idea of who he was... Dont you think? (Of course, Goldman´s book says so and so, which, we know, exaggerated and was in fact meanful, but...)

[russieross]

In this interview Lennon complained about having to put out a couple of albums a year and a single every three months whatever else was going on and no matter what your family life was like. How terrible! And all you got in return was a few million dollars. I feel bad for the working guy, making very little money and who has to go to work no matter what HIS life is like. Thats who gets my concern and understanding, not some rock and roll millionaire.

[Stube437]

As a talent scout he did well? I don't know if most people'd agree finding Yoko did much good!

[ThePoorhillbilly]

yoko ono had no talent . at all. she's his missus. he just likes having her around and she would look like fun doing the primal scream. i think hés saying paul basically was a woman and was no talent. he's john lennon for god sake. he was a god whilst alive. he wasn't in the beatles. he was the beatles!

[j0nnyism]

@ThePoorhillbilly yeah and i suppose if paul had died he would have been the genius. why dont you listen to the music and figure out who wrote what, its fun and you might realize that paul could write some pretty great pop songs too

[jcnsync1]

He fails to mention George and Ringo.

[OneDollarBook]

A happy whore is a grateful whore.

[fesbahn]

chapman, I can't forgive you. And john, you were heavy into acid when you met the talentless yoko.

[Dadgrug]

It's nice to see that John has completely abandoned the whole Beatle look... By the way - nice haircut in this picture John- ; )

[petecatz]

It hurts to hear John talk about Yoko being at the same level of talent with Paul.......that's so fucking stupid, just complete garbage!

[NeilFraudstrong]

Marketing marketing marketing marketing.

[jericho360]

@NeilFraudstrong Love love love love

[Catlovertea4]

I totally agree. To calibrate her non-musical ability with Paul is absurd. He was definitely in love folks! But I also think it shows how insecure John was with his own talent apart from Paul's collaboration. As much in love and visual artistic connection there was between them, she barged her way into a status she never earned. A woman finally stood up to him in a good way, and he was drawn to that, but whatever her intentions, she was still a master manipulator and controller.

[AntiquatedPoet]

@petecatz I concur completely. What can you say? Love made John blind and clouded his judgment regarding talent; just the fact that he actually said he knows how to pick talent when referring to her, shows how misguided and arrogant he was.

[petecatz]

@AntiquatedPoet....Well I'm sure John could have worked his magic in the early 80's to make Yoko a somewhat of a hit.....but the truth is we all wanted Paul back with John. I don't think Lennon was blind at all....he knew Ono was no McCartney....he just wanted to make something different with Ono. Sad part is that John wanted to do this Ono thing and drop McCartney forever....fucking bullshit! I remember those days and the truth is we all wanted YOKO & LINDA OUT! and the BEATLES BACK!

[AntiquatedPoet]

@petecatz I'm not so sure he or anybody could make Yoko "a hit." She's equivalent to the American Idol rejects who think they have talent. John would've heard what we all did had his love not made him bias and yes, blind. Actually in this segment of the interview, he equated Yoko with Paul on talent. Yes, John knew everybody wanted a reunion of him and Paul, which is why is answer came quite bluntly in the song "God" when he said "The dream is over."  A clear message saying, never.

[petecatz]

@AntiquatedPoet....I said "a somewhat of a hit" what's the big deal? After all Lennon made Ringo a famous drummer and he couldn't play his way out of a paper bag!

[pr00de]

@petecatz it's not about talent, it's about the feeling he got from them.

[nammm3]

LONG LIVE JOHN AND THE BEATLES!!!

[happykilojoule]

His bit about meeting Paul I recognize from the Anthology videos, had no idea it was from his very last interview :(

[Zebonka]

I think that all the supposed experts who judge him on his screwed personal life should listen to this interview.

If he'd had another year or two, he'd have made amends. No question, he was a changed guy. What a sick joke that he got murdered when he did ...

[griseldafenne]

I think he would have done well he lived on his music's to good and in touch with the spirit of the living..

[geoffgio]

9:30: A straightforward sentiment regarding his relationship with Cynthia.

[internetisgood]

9:50 - I think Yoko was too excited about the idea that they've been together longer than the Beatles. Almost as if they were in competition.

[agatha7878]

no, he's the one that pointed it out! she barely said anything except "isn't that interesting."

[kitakashiwa]

u can call him teddy boy

[TimBobbro]

John Lennon